Mysticism

[close] Discussion and commentary of the Gnostic writings of Luis Varady.

[close] Welcome to the House of Llianne Olivo — a gathering space for readers who crave romance in every shade, shape, and form. Here you will find sweet stories, dark tales, spicy scenes, taboo corners, speculative twists, paranormal secrets, contemporary ache, and moments touched by mysticism and ghostlight that linger long after the last page. This group is for readers who want more than just a book on a shelf. Join if you want early access to my new releases as an ARC reader, or if you want to be part of my street team or beta circle. Here you can help pick tropes, share your preferences, and shape what I write next. I share giveaways, signed copies, bookmarks, and sometimes special extras through my Etsy shop. I release books weekly — Kindle Unlimited drops, Wattpad freebies, wide paperbacks and ebooks, and future audiobooks. I post behind-the-scenes confessions, raw thoughts about the industry, and honest updates on what it costs to build stories that bruise sweet. Many of my stories drift through shadows of spirituality and old myths — creatures of night and day, ghosts, forgotten gods, and whispered secrets. If that resonates with you, you will find it here, woven softly into the bones of each book. I hope to visit book fairs and local stores soon, and this group will be the first to know where I might appear next. If you want more connection, you can join my Discord for text chats, voice nights, story polls, music, and quiet late-night company. Whether you like your romance clean or dangerously dark, soft or sharp, sweet or uncomfortably good, you are welcome here. This House is built for readers who support each other and help my work stay visible with reviews, word-of-mouth, and honest conversation. We build this House together. Bienvenidos. This is where the ghosts get fed.

[close] Conversation this November 24, 5-8 p.m., on why we write and why we read, facilitated by author Sharman Apt Russell. Writing is discovery of the self, a kind of archaeology, going into the unconscious, bringing up feelings and ideas into the light—the nature of insight. In sight. Writing is motion, action, throwing words on the page and being part of how they interact and resonate and attract and repel. Thinking really does come out of language. And writing is about being actively engaged in language. Writing is play. Writing is theater. We get to be everything in the stories we write--a different sex, a different age, a different culture, a different species. We are a king and a fox and a leaf in the wind. We are the wind. And I believe this reflects a basic truth. I believe we are, in fact, part of everything. Science tells us that. The mystics tell us that. Writing is a kind of experiential mysticism in which we try to mimic the unity of the universe. In which every sound, every syllable, every word, every idea, every image is part of a larger whole. Reading is a dialogue with someone engaged in this process. Like a good conversation with a friend, we are fully participatory. There is a back and forth. We bring our own ideas. We are part of the theater—we are also everything in the story. A king, a fox, a leaf. The wind. We experience the unity. These are my thoughts. I’d like to know yours.

[close] A place to discuss all the unique aspects of Deaf culture as highlighted in the thriller Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) by Lance & James Morcan. This group can also be an intersection of sorts where Deaf and hearing people can engage and learn from each other.